Harvard Student Rips University for Alleged Inaction After Sexual Assault

A Harvard student published a harrowing op-ed in the campus’s school paper, The Crimson, alleging that the university’s inaction after she claims she reported being sexual assaulted by a male housemate led her down a path of depression and crippling fear.

“More than anything, I’m exhausted from living in the same House as the student who sexually assaulted me nine months ago,” she wrote. “My assailant will remain unpunished, and life on this campus will continue its course as if nothing had happened. Today, Harvard, I am writing to let you know that you have won.”

The student wrote that she was told the alleged assault would be “unlikely” to violate the university’s student conduct code, which was written in 1993. “Even though he had verbally pressured me into sexual activity and physically hurt me, the incident did not fall within the scope of the school’s narrow definition of sexual assault,” she wrote.

While she concedes that her unwillingness to open what she saw as a losing Administrative Board inquiry into the case put Harvard in the difficult situation of choosing whether to take action against her alleged assailant without a “fair investigative process,” the student wrote that, in practice, the narrowness of the school’s definition of assault works against victims who don’t want to give their alleged rapists the satisfaction of a victory if the case is dismissed. She writes that she was then told she was free to transfer to another House, but wrote that “moving out felt flat-out impossible.”

“I could see myself slowly descending into mental illness, and I knew I would spiral out of control quickly without my blockmates and favorite tutors around to support me,” she wrote.

There’s currently a vigorous debate about how universities – and the government – should ramp up their efforts to combat rape culture and handle cases as they occur.

“I know deep down that all those administrators are not bad people,” the Harvard student wrote. “They want to be supportive, and they really try to be. But they have no idea how to do deal with cases of sexual violence because they have not been trained sufficiently. They use insensitive language, unfortunate comparisons, and empty phrases to avoid any liability issues that could come up. They simply do not know, and, as a result, they do more harm than good when trying to handle cases of sexual violence.”

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. On Tuesday, three additional Harvard students published an op-ed entitled “Survivors Are Not a Liability” in The Crimson. They quote from Harvard’s response to a sexual assault near the school’s storied campus, which included advice such as “walk with confidence.” “Harvard demonstrated the following strategy for preventing sexual assault: Encourage potential victims to run faster,” the students wrote. “But when attacked by a fellow student in a dorm room, House, or final club, where are students supposed to run?”